Aurora R6, graphics card upgrade, #16

Not seeing any "blower" style with EVGA which is what I want.

Any thoughts on running the EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra Hybrid Gaming card? It has a 240mm radiator so not sure how I could mount that beings it would have to be done external since there are no options for internal.

With 850w PS, it should work fine.

You can always move SoundBlaster card down to very bottom PCIe-x16 (x8 electrically) slot to allow more air-flow to video-card.

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Aurora-R6-upgrade-help-advice/m-p/7763888/highlight/true#M37280

Re: what kind of issues I might have (if any) with airflow to keep it cool enough since everything is so tight in these systems

it will probably overheat and make chassis into an oven unless you drastically improve air flow or implement water cooling of 3080.   This is a 320W card.  If you have to get one, get a blower type.  Open air type is out of the question in this case.

The Aurora R6 looks pretty much like the R8. I Put a EVGA RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra Gaming in my R8, only a few days ago, pictures on here - I do have the 850w PSU.

The EVGA XC 3070-90 fit when replacing the front fan to a Noctua 15mm fan.

Other good 3080/90 cards may require cutting off the PSU door triangle for card width like what eastsider2 did, I wouldn't recommend it though.

Good luck

Awesome... thanks markburv! I just put myself on the auto-notify list for the same card for when it comes back into stock. How are your GPU temps?

With 1440p monitor at 165Hz.

CSGO : 62-69°C (Vertical Sync on) was 73° with off.

TimeSpy (not extreme) : 74° (Vertical Sync off) - I posted my results in my thread including temps. I rarely get GPU over 70° in games.

I do however link a Thermal Profile to games as the Noctua is half the speed of the orginal front fan : Top fan: +45% Front Fan : +56%. This does blow the heat out the top nicely. I also use a headset so I am not worried about a bit of whirring.

If noise becomes a problem, some have replaced the top fan with a Corsair ML 120 Pro non-RGB, others have also added a Noctua 25mm fan to the HDD bay on a Y cable to Front fan connection.

Vertical Sync does unload weight of the GPU and prevents tearing.

My GTX 1060 with the same Thermal Profile in CSGO without Vertical Sync and at 120FPS it was 80°. So I dropped 7° with the new card and moved up to 165FPS. Most people think that having a faster card means running more maxed out, obviously it would get hotter, I like to just have it smooth, whether it be 60FPS for Campaign type games (FarCry) or at 120FPS min for FPS, I see a better card as = less loaded = less hotter.

@M0710NM4N 

Check out the maintenance Doc : here

Notably how to remove the front panel, you will need to do this to install a new 15mm Fan, not all fans work apparantly, the Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM comes with a Y cable, useful for adding another fan to the same connector, the Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM chromax.black.swap doesn't, it has some interchangeable cushions for padding.

While you are waiting for the card, I would suggest buying and installing a new front fan, plastic ties >= 15cm does the job nicely, but you need to take off the front panel.

That way you can test and compare your temperatures,

---

I am getting the impression that even though the GPU is nicely cooled, one needs to be more concerned about the hot air coming out of it making air generally warmer inside the case above the GPU. The question being, is the CPU being less cooled.

When the CPU hits 100% the CPU hits 100°, this happens in Timespy CPU test.

I know CPUs can handle heat more than GPUs, I may test adding a 25mm fan in the HDD bay, but will need a PWM Y cable.

Timespy tests are part of 3DMark Demo on Steam, however the full version with RTX Tracing tests is on sale atm, 85% off, very cheap, ends January 5.

@M0710NM4N 

Keep checkiing out my thread Upper front fan added

I have got the CPU down to between 72°C (noisy top fan) and 75°C (acceptable sound) depending on thermal profile.

CSGO turns GPU at 63°C at 165Hz VSYNC without changing the game graphic settings but now on a quieter profile than before. It takes a bit of tweaking

What a mess. After some financial hardships... 1 year and 10 months later I just finally had the cash to drop on a RTX 3070 which I bought the MSI Gaming Trio from Dell's site and it don't fit! What the heck!?

Did you measure to see if it would fit??? At 323mm long you are not even close. Your max length will be about 270mm. Consider the nVidia RTX 3060Ti  Founders Edition like this which is 242mm long . . . so plenty of breathing room, but your CPU will be a very weal link in the system.

Well... no. Stupid me asked originally about the R6 fitting the 3070 or 3080 and not one person mentioned that length would be an issue, so I didn't even bother. Will for sure teach me a lesson going forward. Though... my next job is probably gonna be building a new one and that way I'm getting all the exact parts I want and the vast majority of mid towers will comfortably fit a long card. I'm returning this one and already ordered the PNY 3070 that wasn't there the other day on this site and it will fit. Little slower than the MSI but at least it will get me playing MWII and saved me $200 as well. So kind of a win win.

It was mentioned, in a way:

The EVGA XC 3070-90 fit when replacing the front fan to a Noctua 15mm fan.

Other good 3080/90 cards may require cutting off the PSU door triangle for card width like what eastsider2 did, I wouldn't recommend it though.

When you start planning your new custom build come visit us here and here